Heavy rain floods streets in Samogitia, hail hits Kaunas district

Heavy rain and thunderstorms swept across Lithuania on the first day of autumn, flooding some streets in Samogitia and bringing hail to Kaunas district, LRT.lt reported.

The rain arrived as a cold atmospheric front moved across the country. LHMT forecasters said an area of intense precipitation, thunderstorms and small hail was moving through Lithuania.

Telšiai received 34 millimetres of rain in about two hours, equivalent to nearly two weeks of September rainfall. Residents reported that several streets were temporarily heavily flooded.

Heavy rain also passed through the Laukuva meteorological station in Šilalė district and the Tauragė meteorological station. Forecasters warned that driving conditions could become difficult, with short sections of roads and lower-lying terrain at risk of temporary flooding.

As of noon, the most active rain and thunderstorm clouds were moving across Šiauliai, Tauragė, Marijampolė and Utena counties. The systems were expected to travel northeast, while new heavy-rain clouds were forecast to develop in southern Lithuania.

Hail was reported in Kaunas district shortly before 2 p.m., with residents sharing footage on social media. Radar data indicated that rain clouds could reach Vilnius between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, wind gusts of up to 15 to 17 metres per second and small hail were possible there.